alleyway crises vivify

Perhaps not.

An artist sees by observing the relationships of color, value, shape and texture, which is very different from how most people look at the world. (Richard Robinson)

Have another round-up of interesting stuff today, a little procrastination before hitting the studio!  Let me know what you like of these offerings-  I only show stuff *I* find compelling for some reason or another:

First, an image of Barbi drawn on a real woman-  too bad she would have to lose her neck and half her face to add up, plus increase the size of her eyes by 4X.  And have a few ribs removed.  Too bad we use this as a standard to show little girls.  No wonder they give up at 9.

Still talking about boobs here- Bert Gilbert has a whole style sheet of paper nipple tassels available at her shop.  I suppose there might be some use for them somewhere, not with me.

Heike Weber is a German installation artist whose sculptural art reinterprets the complex designs of oriental rugs. Using gossamer silicone instead of thread, Weber's "Kilim" series combines traditional Middle Eastern motifs with modern media to create ghostly outlines of the decadent tapestries.

Aluminum hand dyed and displayed in a kimono shape-  lovely!

Miya Ando's work, created through a process of dip-dying aluminum blocks in electrically-charged vats, are nothing short of industrial watercolors. "I like this ability for a plate of metal to evoke soft imagery and ephemerality," says Ando. The process hardens supple aluminum, adding to the rigid surface the artist's own subtly colored gradients. Ando explained this process and more during a recent stop at her Brooklyn studio.

Milan-based Artist Andrea Petrachi creates bizarre characters and insects using reclaimed objects such as old cameras, calculators, pliers, knives, and even electric razors. Despite their sleek design, the characters are quite whimsical, often taking the persona of faces and heads removed from dolls and other children’s toys. Petrachi says his work is generally a symbol of our cultures out-of-control consumerism

When artist Christian Faur was searching for a new medium to explore, he was not afraid to tap into his inner child to find the right one. After dabbling in paint, paper, and encaustics, Faur has turned to crayons as his material of choice. But instead of using the crayons to sketch or draw, the artist opts to create sculptural portraits made from hundreds of the carefully arranged wax colors.
One portrait 12 ways:

And now a visit to the Crayola factory to follow up:

Finally, over at Purl Soho, there is a feature ad showing these crocheted doily-thingies just like grandma used to make and her daughter throw away to be bought by Sandy in a flea market to cut up while she worried about the ever dwindling supply!  I am freed-  there will be generations coming up crocheting their little hearts out making me more stuff to cut up and sew down!  

A little PS today:  I found a great site from Saatchi that shows the curatorial choices of 100 art people over 100 days.  This is an amazing source for what's happening and what's interesting to people in the know.  I've been following it every day since I found it.